Mike Shanahan said Redskins 'gotta have' game against Giants

Mike Shanahan's Redskins lost a thriller to the Giants when the division rivals met at MetLife Stadium last month.Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

The Redskins, coming off a 38-31 Thanksgiving win at Cowboys Stadium, have emerged as the Giants' lead contenders in the NFC East. But not long ago, they were 3-6, putting pressure on them down the stretch and in games like this Monday's against the Giants.

"We put ourselves in this situation, starting off 3-6, and we knew each game was a pivotal game, games you’ve gotta have," coach Mike Shanahan said on a conference call today. "So this game is no different."

Shanahan received some criticism at that juncture in the season, with some media outlets suggesting he sounded as though he was writing off this season as he referenced evaluating players for the future.

"If you know me, I don’t care if we're 1-14, we're going to play to the last game," Shanahan said. "That statement is ridiculous to start with it."

He continued, explaining that he meant when a team is in a 3-6 hole, players have to play their best football, and that the final stretch of the season would determine which players on their roster have that in them.

"The guys who play that way will be the guys who will be with us for years to come," Shanahan said.

The last time the Redskins and Giants met, the Giants won in thrilling fashion, with a 77-yard touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Victor Cruz to overcome a late deficit.

"You’ve got to find a way to win, and if you don’t find a way to win, it doesn’t matter," Shanahan said. "You're hoping situations like that don’t come down too many times because we did a lot of things we should have done. But any time you have four turnovers, you take a hard look at yourself and you say, 'Hey, we can't win with four turnovers, even thought we did some good things.' "

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The newest Giants running back, Ryan Torain, played under Shanahan with the Redskins the past two seasons. What can he bring to the Giants?

"I'm hoping that he's not doing anything this weekend. Hopefully, he's sick, and he's not playing very good," Shanahan joked. "No, Ryan Torain is a great young man, and he's got excellent running ability. I was kind of really surprised he was on the street as long as he was, but I think the one thing you can look for is a guy that can make people miss and a guy that can carry the football. He's a great kid."